Vaccination

[~Annie~]

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Hi Katie

I'll try and unconfuse you if I can ...

With the exception of leptospirosis (which is not a virus) once puppy vacs and one year boosters have been done a dog should have life long immunity and will almost certainly have immunity for some years (research suggests at least 7 years), but he/she will have been vaccinated with a product only 'guaranteed' to give protection for one, two, or three years. Of course there is no real guarantee, apart from anything else vaccines don't always 'take', but working on the basis of that 'guarantee' vets will suggest that you revaccinate accordingly every one, two, or three years.

If you don't vaccinate as per your vets recommendation and your dog contracts any of the diseases he/she should have been vaccinated against you will not be able to claim on your insurance for his/her treatment. Also most boarding kennels require proof of annual vaccination. Consequently many vets still vaccinate annually even though (again with the exception of leptospirosis, which can be given as a single jab), your dog almost certainly doesn't need those vaccinations. Titre testing is a way of finding out whether the dog has immunity and therefore what risk you might be taking with your dogs health if you don't revaccinate, but the blood test is more expensive than the actual jab and that's another reason why many vets just do annual vacs.

If you ask your vet how long the vaccinations he uses are licensed for you may well find that it is two or three years rather than one. Many vets keep quiet about this ... vaccination is a bit of a veterinary money spinner in some vet practices. Remember though that your dogs will need the leptospirosis jab at least once a year, in fact mine have it twice a year, as it only provides protection for 6 mths or so.

Hope this helps.

Annie

 

[k4tie-d]

ah ok, that makes a bit more sence,

i will check out with them the next time we are there,

but from what your saying at the min we have done it right with the first jabs and the 1 year booster, its what they get from now on that can vary :blink:

will have to do a bit more research into this before next years booster pops up,

thanks for explaining, :thumbsup:

 

[~Annie~]

Thought i had better, yes they had their puppy vaccs and that is all they have had, Towy now is 11 and the others younger, did think about it in June being publicised as vaccination month but stayed with the original advice. He also stated it was the same for tetanus vaccs for horses.

You're risking lepto if you don't vaccinate against it ... as you've probably picked up from the thread I do as you have done but I titre test to ensure that I'm not supposing an immunity that isn't there ... not all vaccines take, and in some studies dogs vaccinated annually still had limited immunity, so the titre testing gives me peace of mind. Lepto has many strains so there is no guarantee that vaccination will provide 100% protection, but it's still a good idea. As my dogs are run close to rivers where there plenty of water rats etc. they are at higher risk of lepto (it's transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids, e.g. rat urine) so as vaccination only provides cover for 6 mths I vaccinate against lepto 6 monthly. As it is a bacterial disease it is not possible to protect against it long term in the way it is with viral diseases, and your dog won't build a natural immunity to it.

Annie

 

[~Annie~]

ah ok, that makes a bit more sence,i will check out with them the next time we are there,

but from what your saying at the min we have done it right with the first jabs and the 1 year booster, its what they get from now on that can vary :blink:

will have to do a bit more research into this before next years booster pops up,

thanks for explaining, :thumbsup:

Exactly :thumbsup:

Annie